All Articles Tagged "Friday"

During the Circle of Sisters event held by WBLS, WLIB and Hot 97 this past weekend, I had the chance to sit down with one of my favorite actresses. Paula Jai Parker is stepping back into the spotlight with the TV One reality show “Hollywood Divas” after taking a break of sorts for five years. When I talked to the lovely actress, we chatted about the 20th anniversary of Friday, which was her first film, why she decided to do reality TV, what she learned about herself while doing it, and feeling blackballed by the industry.

What She Thinks About Friday All These Years Later:

You know that movie was 20 years ago!? They just had the 20-year anniversary of Friday in LA at the Los Angeles Film Festival. So it bugs me out! That was my first movie and that’s the one that everyone always remembers. That’s the one. It was one of the funnest experiences I ever had on a film. Nia [Long] is my girl, so it was like working with your girlfriends. I had the same kind of fun on Hustle & Flow, but with this one, it was different because it was like a block party. The whole shooting took place on the street basically. We’d shut down the street and party for real. It would be so many rappers there, and just because they were all together they would just start rhyming! So it was just unforgettable. It was a great experience. For it to have been my first film, I was very lucky. I expected them all to be like that…and they’re not.

The Difference Between “Black Films” And “White Films”:

I do enjoy doing predominately black film because it’s fun. But I like doing white films because it’s money. So, there you have it [laughs]!

Why She Decided To Do “Hollywood Divas”:

Reality TV kind of chose me, I didn’t choose reality TV. I had a baby and I was out of the game for five years and during that time, Hollywood forgot about me. My manager and my agent, they both dropped me. Hollywood has no empathy for pregnancy. If you get pregnant, it’s like you’re sick. It’s like you have a disease, unless you get pregnant by Will Smith. And I didn’t marry Will Smith, Jada did, and that’s my girl! But I couldn’t really find work. I wanted to use reality TV as a platform to diversify my talents. I’m a director. Because I couldn’t find work, I started directing a lot more and I realized I’m good at it. So, when I had this opportunity to do this show, I took it and ran. I brought my girls–they asked me who I wanted and I suggested some people, and they chose everybody I would have wanted. They were my first choices. And we got to create our own project. So it’s really given us all a platform to become producers. My husband is the writer of our project so it’s gotten him in the game.

What She Learned About Herself By Doing The Reality Show:

It made me grow as a woman because it forced me to tackle issues within my family, as well as within Hollywood. For me, I don’t talk. If somebody pisses me off, I’m over it. I’m done with you and I move on with my life. I don’t have to talk about it. I don’t have to explain myself and you don’t have to explain yourself. I’m just over it. But this situation forced me to deal with problems within my family; to communicate with the ladies–things that I don’t do. There was nowhere to run, so we had to tackle them. It made us stronger as women. It made our bond stronger. My mother and my husband get along better now than they ever have in the last 10 years, thanks to reality TV. It’s weird, because they put a spotlight on your issues, and me, personally, I don’t do that. I run. I don’t deal. I deal within and that’s me dealing. But this forced me to confront and be confronted and stay in the moment and deal.

After Saying She Was Homeless In Episode 1 Of “Hollywood Divas,” Are Things Looking Up?

Yes! Thank you for asking. One thing I had heard about reality TV is that they buy you houses. So, they put us in a home. They put my family in a home…so, yeah…don’t make me cry! It’s still really sensitive for me. It’s hard out here!

If you’re interested in learning more about Paula’s story, and that of the other stars of the show, check out the premiere of “Hollywood Divas” tonight at 10 p.m. (EST) on TV One. And you can check out the first five minutes, which deals with Paula’s problems, below:

Father’s Day marks the day in the year where we give our props to all the men in our lives who helped raised us! When this day rolls around, we always talk about TV dads like Bill Cosby, but what about movie fathers who warmed our hearts? To pay respect here are fifteen film dads who left us wishing they were in our lives too!

If you missed the memo, the 2013 BET Awards are airing at the end of the month. I know, I haven’t seen that much advertising for it either. The man who will be hosting what should be a surprise of an awards show (since we never know if the big names will show up to pick up their awards since they think they’re too good all of a sudden) will be Chris Tucker of all people. When it was first announced that Tucker would be holding things down this time around, I thought to myself, “Chris Tucker???” Not to throw shade, but out of pure confusion. Where did this pick come from? Where did Tucker come from actually?

The comedian who was once the talk of the town in the ’90s literally spent the last decade taking a cue from Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo, going into hiding while fans wondered what the hell was going on. As time passed he occasionally showed up on red carpets, showed up courtside at Lakers games smiling with his son, and would get stopped by the police on his way to church. A little bit here, a little bit there. So why he was the one to call “confuzzled” a sista. But I guess the motivation to give Tucker a shot at hosting duties came out of the fact that he starred in one of the most critically acclaimed films of last year–Silver Linings Playbook. I’ve seen the movie. It’s good. Yet and still, was Tucker really funny per se? His character had too much of a sad background story, what with constantly being put back into the mental institution he was trying to escape when no one was looking to really bust out a chuckle at his lines. So while I’m glad his career is getting a second wind, I’m a little concerned that the Tucker we’ll see come June 30 won’t be nearly as funny as we’re hoping for.

Rewind to the mid-90s and I could see myself getting excited by this new opportunity for the actor/comedian. Tucker was literally what kept people’s eyes glued to the screen when folks were watching Friday; he showed he had serious acting chops in Dead Presidents and Jackie Brown; he showed he could steal the shine from movie legends in The Fifth Element, and he made dysfunctional buddy comedies cool again via Rush Hour. But after all that back-to-back success and spotlight, Tucker seemed to all of a sudden shy away from it. Next thing you know, we only saw him in Rush Hour movies every few years, he all of a sudden wanted nothing to do with the Friday franchise, and preferred to spend his time singing and dancing alongside Michael Jackson (we’re not mad at him for that though). And after that, everything about Tucker changed it seemed. His size went from skinny to buff to low-key chubby. His demeanor went from goofy to quiet, and in all honesty, he reminds me of one of my uncles at this point. And not the hilarious one you want to sit by at Thanksgiving dinner…I haven’t heard him crack a joke or even giggle for real in a long time.

Only Tucker knows what really pushed him to step outside of the limelight, though it’s said that he became a born-again Christian in the late ’90s. So maybe the film roles he was getting for a while there were a little too negative for his liking as someone trying to walk in a more positive light. And I’m not saying I need this man to get on stage and curse or shuck and jive to get a laugh out of me. But as an entertainer I’ve only seen on-screen four times since 2001, I don’t know what to expect, and I can’t say I’m that excited by that. Maybe because I literally feel my stomach turning when funny people aren’t funny live on television. Our readers definitely seem to be excited though, so that’s a good sign, and who knows, he could still have mad jokes. And in all honesty, it’s the BET Awards. As long as Bow Wow and the co-hosts of 106 & Park aren’t hosting, I’ll make it. And after Samuel Jackson did a random impersonation of Jay-Z with Spike Lee as Kanye last year, there’s not very much a man can do wrong to follow that. As the ads for the event say, “Anything can happen!” and that’s true. So I won’t pull out the gong and call The Sandman just yet…

While some people watch movies and quietly root for the villain (no lie, I thought Bane in The Dark Knight Rises was bad a**!), many of us do the complete opposite–we watch these cocky, disrespectful, distasteful and often violent characters with disgust. Some are so good at being bad that we equate the actors with these characters for a long time, and some are eerily effective, to the point that you watch the character, act like you know them, and scoff at the fact that you dislike them so much. If you ever say, “UGH!” when you watch these movies, or shake your head at these characters a few times, then you’ll probably agree that they were villains you loved to hate.

Sanaa Lathan in The Family That Preys

If you watched just 30 minutes of The Family That Preys and viewed Lathan as Andrea, you were probably just as sick of her as we were. She was a conniving cheater, dogging out her hard-working and fine man (Rockmond Dunbar) for the town’s stuck-up socialite and trust-fund baby. And in the end, she revealed that *SPOILER* the son her husband thought was his blood was a product of her affair. She didn’t even look remorseful at all! Who else wanted to reach through the screen and shake her real good???

Oh Friday, always the best day of the week. You’re about to get your freedom back, for at least a couple of days, and you’re ready to make the most of it. But if you could just get out of work or make it through happy hour! Here are nine things that go through our minds on a Friday, and chances are, at least a few run through yours as well. Have a great weekend dolls!

When it’s time to spend some time at home with friends and fam, these are the movies you play over and over again until you know half the words. We have 15 of our favorite hood classics here. If we missed your favorite, let us know in the comments section.

Before Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, before Pineapple Express, there was the original “high til I die” movie, Friday. Following the events of just one day in the neighborhood, we watch as Craig and Smokey sit, smoke and plot about what to do about Craig’s unemployment situation. You’ve memorized the lines, but we bet money you don’t know these secrets. Check it out.

Everyone’s favorite smooth movie villain may not be so smooth when it comes to the ladies. Actor Clifton Powell, better known as Pinky to the “Friday” fans, has been accused of raping a Louisiana woman last year and now she wants him to pay up.

Under the pseudonym Kiyante Myers, the woman filed a suit claiming Clifton raped her in a hotel room in August 2011. As TMZ reports:

According to the suit, Myers claims she initially consented to sex with Powell … but when it turned rough, she asked him to stop … and he refused.

Instead, she claims, Powell placed his hands over her face and raped her.

TMZ has learned … Myers went to cops about the incident last year … and an investigation was conducted. But cops didn’t feel there was enough evidence to prove Powell committed a crime and they closed the case against the actor.

Myers has now taken her claims to federal court in Louisiana, where she’s seeking damages in excess of $75k.

I don’t know about you, but $75,000 is awfully small compensation for being an alleged victim of such a heinous crime. Something seems a bit off with that claim, not to mention the fact that police dismissed the incident altogether.

Somewhere down the line, people began devouring movies for entertainment purposes, solely, and failed to understand underlining life lessons offered by films. Simply because a movie has you buckling over with laughter or rocking on the edge of your seat in fear, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn the importance of honesty, the value of love or the fulfillment of intellect.